The Welsh Language Act 1993 established the principle that in the conduct of public business and administration of justice in Wales the English and Welsh languages should be treated on a basis of equality. The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) is committed to offering services to the public in Wales in the language of their choice.

We have prepared a Welsh Language Scheme (the scheme) setting out how we will deliver services to Welsh speaking members of the public. We originally published our scheme in September 2011 and have revised it to reflect our new name and our role as a regulator of social workers in England. The Welsh Language Commissioner approved our amended scheme on 15 February 2013.

In 2015 we prepared a comprehensive evaluation report which assessed and evaluated our performance in implementing the scheme since its inception. This report was considered by the HCPC Council and forwarded to the Welsh Language Commissioner’s office. The report, together with an accompanying implementation plan of key priorities under the scheme for the period 2015-17, is available below.

We understand that our scheme will ultimately be replaced by Welsh language standards. We look forward to working with the Welsh Language Commissioner in considering what standards should ultimately be made applicable to the HCPC.

In the meantime we will continue to implement the existing scheme and monitor its implementation. We will also report annually on our progress to the HCPC Council and the Welsh Language Commissioner.